Reed Smith LLP - True Picture

Reed Smith training contract review 2026

The Firm

Tradition can be hard to steer away from, particularly when it’s so tried and tested. But in a world where options are aplenty and competition is high, it’s important to have a differentiating factor. For Reed Smith, one differentiator that stood out to insiders was the firm’s sector-focused approach, with six core practices at the heart of its operations: energy & natural resources, entertainment & media, financial services, healthcare, life sciences and transportation. “I liked the way the firm structured itself,” one noted.

In practice, this approach means departments are shaped around industries and are geared up to meet all the legal needs of that certain industry, whether that’s in corporate, real estate or employment matters. What this means for trainees sitting in any particular seat is exposure to multiple aspects of any one industry. As one put it: “finance doesn’t end with the financial industry group – it extends to the specialist groups as well.” All in all, “it’s traditional plus innovative,” one interviewee summed up.

Evidently, deviating from tradition has its merits. Our colleagues over on Chambers UK certainly agree – Reed Smith features in our sister guide with gold stars for its commodities, insurance and shipping practices across the nation. In the capital, the firm’s banking & finance team also picks up top praise.

“There’s not a single piece of work you can do that’s not cross border!”

Of course, we’d be remiss not to mention the firm’s international nature, too. With humble origins in Pennsylvania, Reed Smith now operates from over 30 locations globally. Aside from the opportunity for international secondments, this also means trainees sat in London are able to work on matters with colleagues across the globe. In fact, one insider noted, “There’s not a single piece of work you can do that’s not cross border!”

As early careers recruitment & development manager Rebecca Schrod explains, “We’ve got quite a unique position in that we’re a US law firm, but also London is the biggest office.” She adds, “for trainees, it gives a really good mixture of exposure to that work, lots of contact across various different international offices and higher trainee numbers than you might expect from other US law firms.”

The Seats

The seat allocation process consists of a chat with HR then newbies submit their ranked seat choices (usually four) into an AI system. As per SRA requirements, trainees have to do a contentious seat. But because multiple groups have a litigious element to their work, this requirement can be covered by a seat in energy & natural resources or transportation, depending on the kind of work a trainee does there. There is also a firm requirement to sit in a finance seat too.

Trainees can also go on secondment to the firm’s Dubai, Singapore or Paris office. To apply for an international secondment, trainees submit a CV and cover letter and interview with the office. “It’s not a scary process!” sources reassured. The process is similar for client secondments.

The transportation group covers wet shipping, dry shipping and asset finance. Asset finance is further divided into shipping and aviation and is the transactional part of the group. This means “mainly working with big banks and helping to finance the acquisition of big vessels and aircraft. We’re bigger on the shipping,” one trainee concluded. Across all sub teams, the “nice thing about shipping is the claims are a variety of size. Even if there’s a due diligence exercise you won’t be doing just that: most of it was actually research,” an insider explained,adding “I’m getting to give my own view, not just come up with several different sources.”

“Once they started to trust me, I was leading and closing deals myself.”

Other work for trainees includes drafting emails and ancillary documents, contacting clients and local and opposing counsel, and negotiating. Responsibility can extend far beyond this too: “Once they started to trust me, I was leading and closing deals myself.” Trainees described “juggling a lot of different transactions at one time: 20-25 transactions,” which we heard was a “really good opportunity in terms of client exposure and doing different tasks.”

Because the group is quite large, there’s “quite a lot of work floating around that’s up for grabs for any of the trainees.” As a result, trainees can get exposure to many facets of the group’s work. “It was really busy in that seat which I love,” said an insider, “I really can’t stand being quiet.” In one of the group’s most high-profile cases of the last few years, it advised the salvors in relation to the collision of the container ship Dali with the Baltimore Bridge in March 2024.

Global commercial disputes (GCD) is a large group consisting of several sub teams, such as white-collar crime, regulatory enforcement and insurance recovery. Many partners sit across a few teams, so boundaries between teams aren’t super rigid. One of the firm’s highest-profile litigation cases in recent years is representing two of the defendants, former senior executives of Solo Capital, in a case where the Kingdom of Denmark brought over £1.5 billion in claims against over 100 defendants for an alleged scheme against the Danish tax authority SKAT.

Day-to-day, “the type of work you’re doing is really specific to the partner you’re placed with,” insiders explained. But, generally, trainees will do a lot of research and drafting, like letters before claim. There’s also the chance to pick up work from other partners. Overall, trainees felt the “quality of work and exposure for juniors is really great” in this department.

The financial industry group (FIG) consists of the banking & finance, structured finance, restructuring and financial regulatory teams. Banking & finance can be further divided into fund finance, leverage finance and private credit. While trainees can explore all three facets, “funds is probably the main focus.” In fund finance, the group does both lender and borrower side, often acting for banks. That “innovative” element crops up here again: Reed Smith recently represented the ‘unicorn’-status AI-powered platform Beamery in relation to a $35m financing from CIBC Innovation Bank.

When working on banking & finance matters, trainees tend to manage conditions precedents checklists, work on facility agreements and draft ancillary documents like corporate authorisations. By the end of the seat, trainees “could almost run” smaller transactions, which means drafting and liaising with local counsel and the other side and running closing processes. Tasks for financial regulation involve a lot of FCA and crypto research. The group also does real estate finance, custody and CLO/structured finance (including derivatives). “I’ve loved it,” one source summarised.

In the energy & natural resources (E&NR) group, “we cover everything: disputes, the finance side, the advisory side in terms of regulations and environmental law, commodities stuff,” a trainee explained.While each has its own subgroup, “as a trainee and an NQ in that team, you’re expected to be a generalist,” working across the teams within this large department, the exception being that usually one trainee will work exclusively on E&NR litigation.

“The work that you get is very high quality and often quite complex, it was quite daunting when I first started in the E&NR team because the language of commodities and trading is quite fresh and new,” one junior told us. But “the way they advise clients is really clear and easy to understand,” which in turn helps trainees learn the lingo. Indeed, one recent work highlight is representing Viterra matters related to contracts for the sale of peas and lentils from Canada in India – probably not what first comes to mind when thinking about natural resources!

“…the partners made an effort to bring me into the centre of the practice.”

In terms of matters, “I could tell over the course of my seat the partners made an effort to bring me into the centre of the practice,” shared one insider. This included providing drafting opportunities, working on conditions precedents and project management. There are “lots of quite unique and very complex financings in the energy team, probably because it’s quite bespoke,” being mostly related to commodities. Trainees working on the regulatory side tend to spend a lot of time on research. For the sanctions team, trainees might draft memos and advice for clients on the latest sanctions regimes and case law.

Trainee Life

There are two trainee socials per year but a lot more informal meet ups, whether that’s having lunch together or going to the pub. “We have a very strong cohort bond,” beamed one.  There are also regular social events such as monthly lunches with everyone on a particular office floor or monthly drinks. Firm-wide events include the summer and Christmas parties, and there are department and trainee specific Christmas events too. 

Reed Smith has active cultural inclusion networks. “Trainees are given a lot of responsibility to spearhead the groups and assist in making the firm a better place for everyone,” said an insider, “The firm tries their best not to limit resources in this area and do everything they can to help people flourish here.” At one recent event organised by the Muslim Inclusion Committee, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Britain's first Muslim Cabinet Minister and former co-chairwoman of the Conservative Party, gave a talk about her career.

Trainees should be in the office at least three days per week but are encouraged to do four days in office when possible. As for the office itself, last year the firm “moved into something which I think is a lot more human: it’s literally more down to earth. It’s got exposed brick work: it’s high tech with that rustic feel,” an insider described. On top of the in-house café, the terraces received a lot of love from our interviewees: “as lawyers we sometimes just sit at our desk, so it’s nice to have those outdoor spaces.”

Pretty much everyone at Reed Smith does some kind of pro bono. Projects include family matters, asylum, death row appeals, disability benefits, “abolishing unfair laws in developing countries, and also assisting in people who have been deported unfairly.” Trainees might also review NGOs’ constitutional documents to ensure they align with English law. Trainees can become the champion for a particular pro bono project, which means managing the client relationship and being responsible for getting the team together to work on the case - “you pretty much run it!”

We won’t beat around the bush: hours tend to be pretty long. Especially in the larger groups, trainees reported finishing somewhere between 7pm and 10pm with occasional post-midnight finishes. Sources caveated this with the fact that there’s “no expectation you’ll stick around when the work’s not there.” In part, the long hours are due to the international nature of the work, as clients in the US and Asia might need something completed quickly.

“I feel like we do work long hours as trainees but also what we have to appreciate is that we are learning and our salaries reflect the fact that we’re not experts yet,” shared an interviewee. And what did our sources think about their salarymore generally? “I think it’s fair enough really,” one told us, summing up the general attitude, “It’s a pretty ridiculous amount of money to be making as an NQ in particular, so I would never have any qualms about that.”

Training style is “very much department specific.” In some groups like transportation, it’s primarily on the job with some formal training sessions. The financial industry group has a speaker give a talk on “their main area of expertise, so they have a lot to share. The training has been really good here.”

All our interviewees felt like they had sufficient support to learn and develop their skills. Supervisors“make sure they’re managing the workload for you as well, so you’re not overwhelmed with work.” In some departments, it’s common for trainees to have two supervisors. “Reviews have been pretty informal but also helpful,” said one trainee. Another added, “that can be quite daunting, having someone tell you, ‘Let’s improve on this,’ but my experience has always been, ‘How can we do this together? How can I help you improve on this?’ which has been really, really helpful.”

When going for an NQ position, trainees need to submit a cover letter, CV and a feedback pack which they have been submitting into the feedback system throughout the training contract. The next steps are an interview and sometimes tests are involved. In 2025, the firm did not disclose the number of qualifiers.

How to get a Reed Smith training contract 

APPLY HERE 

• Vacation scheme deadline: 19 December  2025

Reed Smith receives around 2,000 online applications a year. The process is CV-blind to allow students to get their foot in the door. HR told us that it's a plus when a student has undertaken proactive work with volunteering groups or societies (but it doesn’t have to be legal-related). Candidates can expect to do a psychometric test so the firm can grasp an initial understanding of their strengths. The next stage consists of a video interview. Applications will be screened on a rolling basis. Roughly 70 candidates progress to the assessment day. 

Vacation schemes  

Reed Smith runs one-week vacation schemes, one in Winter (February) and another in Spring. The schemes last for around a week, with applicants sitting in one department during that time. HR confirmed that they like to give people a choice of where they want to sit. The main purpose of the vacation schemes is for the firm to get to know applicants: it wants to know how applicants work and how they work with other vac schemers and others across the firm.  

Reed Smith’s HR team said the vacation scheme aims to provide work that’s fun and slightly different. And, according to their trainees, they did not disappoint: “The vacation scheme was a bit challenging, but I got lots out of it as it didn't have a competitive atmosphere and was more cohesive.”  

Direct Training Contract

Reed Smith also recruits through its Direct Training Contract route.

It is predominately aimed at final year students, postgraduates and career changers. The application process includes an online application form, psychometric test and an assessment centre that includes a group exercise, written task and a legal case study.

Applicants can only apply to one Reed Smith Early Careers vacancy per academic year. Therefore, if a candidate has previously applied for the Winter or Spring Vacation Scheme, they will not be eligible to apply. 

Open days  

Reed Smith also holds open days in September and November. The firm hosts both a face-to-face open day as well as online sessions to ensure they are accessible to those unable to attend in person. These sessions focus on factors such as culture; diversity and inclusion; the SQE process; and application advice for the training contract journey. Open days are not a part of the vacation scheme application journey, but the HR team recommends that prospective candidates attend them to better understand the firm and its culture, as well as its subsequent recruitment process. 

Trainee profile  

Sources told us that the firm does look at factors beyond academic ability. Whilst academics are important, the firm is focused on helping trainees become well-rounded lawyers. This means it is looking for people with commercial awareness and the ability to be innovative in their thinking and approach. Reed Smith is also looking for people who are inclusive. 

Reed Smith works closely with over 15 non-Russell Group universities through society sponsorships and bespoke events, partnering with social mobility groups to host or participate in events. The firm has many networks promoting diversity and inclusivity such as a multicultural network, LGBTQ+ network (also known as PRISM), disability network and more. 

Interview with senior early careers recruitment & development manager Rebecca Schrod

Chambers Student: How would you describe the firm? How would you describe its position in the market?

Schrod: We’ve got quite a unique position in that we’re a US law firm but also London is our biggest office, so for trainees it gives a really good mixture of exposure to that work, lots of contact across various different international offices and higher trainee numbers than you might expect from other US law firms. In the wider market, we have our industry group focus that sets us apart, so having that deeper industry expertise in a few of our core sectors is quite unique. It’s quite unique to have expertise in media, as well as shipping, finance and energy.

CS: Are there any highlights from the last year you think it would be helpful for our readers to know about? E.g., changes to the training contract, office moves, etc.

Schrod: We just passed the first anniversary of our office move so the last year has been settling in. The majority of trainees and lawyers were in an office before, since the move more people are working in open plan. It’s a great thing for trainee development, it makes that learning by osmosis and hearing what’s going on, getting involved in what’s going on, that much easier. Personally, I think the culture has always been great and it’s a massive selling point of the firm but the move has strengthened the culture because we’ve got a lot more communal spaces to come together.

We’ve also, like a lot of firms, a push towards innovation and utilising legal tech. We appointed our first director of applied AI. Even though we were utilising a lot of legal tech, it was more specific to each practice or industry group, now we’ve got someone who’s leading the firm in this area. It’s been great for trainees because every lawyer in the firm has been trained on the AI and other legal techs that we use now. Trainees have been super keen to adopt it.

CS: How would you describe the training environment/culture that you have aimed to create at the firm?

Schrod: We want to ensure that trainees get a varied training programme and get exposure to a lot of different types of work, so we’ve maintained the requirement to still do a litigation seat even though that’s not a requirement under the SQE anymore. We also require Trainees to do a finance-related seat. We want to make sure trainees get experience of the full breadth of work the firm does.

We make it an open environment, non-hierarchical. Trainees can get involved with work with lawyers of all levels and interesting work. Trainees are given work at a level they’re capable of, there’s not an idea of, “oh, an NQ would do that.” If your supervisor has seen great, there’s no reason you couldn’t do that level of task.

It’s a mixture of hands-on supervision and training and encouraging trainees to take control of their development and seek out opportunities that interest them as well.

CS: What’s the current set up with remote working for trainees? Is there a set number of days where trainees are expected to come into the office? / How has the pandemic impacted the way the training contract is run?

Schrod: Our firm-wide set up is three days a week in and the core days are Tuesday to Thursday. We do encourage trainees to come in more often if they want it, obviously it’s specific to each trainee. We do encourage trainees to come in more because you do get to learn through osmosis and can get opportunities by talking to colleagues around the department.

CS: During trainee interviews, I learned that that the inclusion networks had been able to invite Baroness Warsi to give a talk at the firm. Obviously, she’s quite a high-profile person, so I wondered if you could tell me a bit more about whether the firm is often able to bring in similar speakers or if you could give me an idea of other events these networks put on?

Schrod: The inclusion networks are another big part of trainee culture as well at the firm. Trainees can get involved in them at a really early stage. For example, we’ve had trainees become co-chair or trainee representative of different groups. If there’s a group that they want to get involved in, they definitely can. There’s a mixture of informal internal events and networking across the firm and other exciting events like that one.

We recently announced our Black History Month event, Sir Trevor McDonald is speaking at that one, it sounds really exciting. These events are great for getting different perspectives and getting involved in events outside of the normal day-to-day work. The responsible business and pro bono work is also a big part of that integration into the culture of the firm and having the opportunity to pick up a bit of pro bono if it’s a quiet afternoon in your seat or volunteering at responsible business events. Often inclusion groups partner with the pro bono team with cases for their partner network.

CS: I also heard about how trainees can become champions for pro bono projects as an opportunity to take on more responsibility and get really involved in pro bono. Would you be able to tell me a bit more about that scheme?

Schrod: Pro bono is quite a big part of the culture. We’ve had 100% participation in pro bono from trainees at some point over the course of their training contract for over a decade now, so it’s definitely really embedded in the training programme. We have three project champions on each project with a client: a trainee, an associate and a partner. It’s a really good opportunity for trainees to get involved in the leadership of the projects and their coordination.

We have an SQE programme with our SQE students and some do a short placement with the firm. In the past, some have been with pro bono partners, so they start that relationship really early.

It’s quite flexible, so they can decide to be a project champion if a particular pro bono project really resonates with them.

A fortnightly opportunity email comes up and trainees can pick and choose opportunities they’re interested in. So, for first seat trainees where they don’t know how much they can get involved because they don’t know how much time they’ll have yet, they will do ad hoc things to try out different types then, as you go on, you can get more involved with a particular client.

CS: What sort of person thrives at the firm? How can a candidate really impress at interview?

Schrod: Definitely the entrepreneurial side. Someone who wants to take control of their development and seize opportunities. Because there’s that non-hierarchical culture, trainees definitely have the opportunity to push themselves f to try new things. Like with pro bono we’ve had trainees introduce new pro bono clients. You don’t have to wait to be partner before you can start on the business development side.

There’s not a set type of skill that we’re looking for. The most important and impressive thing in the process is someone that has done a really thorough self-analysis and knows what their key skills are and what the skills are that they want to work on during the training contract because it’s a training programme, we don’t expect the finished product during interviews. Knowing yourself and highlighting key strengths is really important.

CS: Does the firm have any set recruitment targets around diversity?

Schrod: We don’t have set targets but what we definitely aim for with diversity metrics is to make sure that our trainee population is representative of the wider UK population and looking at university-level statistics to make sure that we’re representative.

CS: And finally, do you have any advice for those thinking about pursuing a career in law? Either at your firm or more generally?

Schrod: Doing what they’re doing but really thoroughly researching firms using resources like Chambers is really crucial, attending events, meeting firms, whether online or coming to an open day. Because there’s such a huge variety within law and law firms and different types of legal career, it can be probably quite overwhelming. Making sure it’s right for you but what kind of work you’re interested in, that really shows in the application process when you’ve really diluted down and know what’s for you and what you’re interested in which you can only show by putting the time in early and doing that initial research.